National Assembly Speaker shocked by reports of her arrest and raises serious concerns bout the continued trial-by-the media tactics

22 March 2024

This morning, the country woke up to a media frenzy with news that the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ms. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has been arrested or handed herself over to the police in relation to the investigation against her by the NPA.

The news seem to have even sparked by an X account post by the Leader of the UDM, Mr.Bantu Holomisa early hours of this morning.

These reports are simply not true and a fabrication by Mr. Holomisa, who simply published these untruths without caring to verify the true facts or the harm that it does to the name of others.

It is  concerning that the media houses running with the story do not apply a better test to determine the veracity of rumours that they receive before publishing. This is a growing trend in South African media and the practice unfortunately not only undermines the rights of the victims of this gossip reporting but makes a mockery of the independence, integrity and professionalism of our media.

We can confirm that the Speaker and her family are at home and that she has had no interaction with the NPA ID since the Search and Seizure operation at her house on Tuesday, the 19th of March 2024. We can also confirm that this morning the Speaker has filed papers in court challenging the manner in which the search and seizure warrant was obtained and the operation itself.

She also demands, within her right that she be given full disclosure of all material information relating to the case, including the full docket in  order to be able to prepare her defence against what she regards as baseless allegations against her. In her papers the Speaker urges the NPA to provide to her the details of the case against her as this seems to have already been given to the media, subjecting her to a trial by the media, without any means to defend herself against these public allegations.

The Speaker remains on Special Leave from her official duties as she prepares to defend herself against these allegations and flagrant tarnishing of her reputation with impunity. The Speaker’s legal team will communicate any developments in the case to both the public and the media.

Issued by Office of the Speaker, 22 March 2024